and my stage of training. You're doing what's called a cross country flights, which moves doing flights over 50 miles. So that worked out perfectly for this trip. So we're going down to rule hospitals that were 50 miles away on the I 81 corridor. Because those are the hospitals that are really hurting. Just turned 16 like, a couple weeks ago, and everything was kind of taken from me like lacrosse season ended. The school year is effectively over, and all I really had left was flight. Turning is the big emphasis at Landon to serve the community. And so I talked to my dad about ways toe fly and serve at the same time and came up with operation S O s meaning supplies over the skies house. We're coming down to leg. We're calling our position. And then all of a sudden, on the frequency we hear from the ground November 7172 Delta Romeo, is that you with the supplies? And I was just kind of shocked because I didn't expect that. So I called back. Yes, that is us. With the surprise, we're gonna try and do it as much as possible. But really, the hard part is not the flying down there or finding hospitals I don't need the hard part is gathering the supplies every week that we can gather enough supplies to go down and fly. We're going to go down and find.

TJ Kim can’t play lacrosse — COVID-19 took the sport away. And at age 16, he can’t drive alone.But Kim can fly. And he’s turned his flying lessons into missions of mercy, bringing desperately needed supplies to rural hospitals in need.Each week, he carries gloves, masks, gowns and other equipment to small hospitals. When he made his first delivery, on March 27 to a 25-bed hospital in Luray, he was taken aback by the reception.“They kind of conveyed to me that they were really forgotten about. Everyone was wanting to send donations to big city hospitals,” he said. “Every hospital is hurting for supplies, but it’s the rural hospitals that really feel forgotten.”Like high school students across the country, Kim was disheartened when school and activities were shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In TJ’s case, the shutdown ended his lacrosse season before it ever really got started.Kim, 16, a sophomore at Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland, brainstormed with his family in McLean, Virginia, about ways to keep active, and to serve the community while he had the time. They settled on Operation SOS — Supplies Over Skies.The most recent flight carried 3,000 gloves, 1,000 head covers, 500 shoe covers, 50 non-surgical masks, 20 pairs of protective eyewear and 10 concentrated bottles of hand sanitizer to Winchester to help supply a hospital in nearby Woodstock.The goal, he said, is to make deliveries to all seven rural hospitals in Virginia defined as critical access hospitals. The flights will become progressively longer. If all goes according to plan, the final flight would take him to Clintwood in southwest Virginia.Kim’s flight instructor, Dave Powell, said he was blown away when his student first proposed the project, especially since he knew how disappointed TJ had been with the cancellation of lacrosse.“For TJ to be more concerned with the needs of others in his melancholy state just reiterated to me how amazing this young man is,” Powell said.Kim’s father, Thomas, has helped round up supplies — the hardest part of the operation, according to his son. It was Thomas who bought TJ a flying lesson for his 15th birthday. He fell in love with the sky.“After I landed, all I could think about was going back up,” said, TJ, who hopes to attend the Naval Academy and ultimately become a pilot.Indeed, his flying is farther along than his driving. His preference for flying over driving is clear.“It’s a lot more free,” he said. “When you’re driving, you have to be in your lane, watch your blind spot and everything.”Thomas Kim said he was glad to see his son channel his initial disappointment at losing his sports season into something positive — “something that combines serving the community and his love of flying.”“The stars really aligned here,” the father said.

MCLEAN, Va. —

TJ Kim can’t play lacrosse — COVID-19 took the sport away. And at age 16, he can’t drive alone.

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But Kim can fly. And he’s turned his flying lessons into missions of mercy, bringing desperately needed supplies to rural hospitals in need.

Each week, he carries gloves, masks, gowns and other equipment to small hospitals. When he made his first delivery, on March 27 to a 25-bed hospital in Luray, he was taken aback by the reception.

“They kind of conveyed to me that they were really forgotten about. Everyone was wanting to send donations to big city hospitals,” he said. “Every hospital is hurting for supplies, but it’s the rural hospitals that really feel forgotten.”

Like high school students across the country, Kim was disheartened when school and activities were shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In TJ’s case, the shutdown ended his lacrosse season before it ever really got started.

Kim, 16, a sophomore at Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland, brainstormed with his family in McLean, Virginia, about ways to keep active, and to serve the community while he had the time. They settled on Operation SOS — Supplies Over Skies.

The goal, he said, is to make deliveries to all seven rural hospitals in Virginia defined as critical access hospitals. The flights will become progressively longer. If all goes according to plan, the final flight would take him to Clintwood in southwest Virginia.

Kim’s flight instructor, Dave Powell, said he was blown away when his student first proposed the project, especially since he knew how disappointed TJ had been with the cancellation of lacrosse.

“For TJ to be more concerned with the needs of others in his melancholy state just reiterated to me how amazing this young man is,” Powell said.

Kim’s father, Thomas, has helped round up supplies — the hardest part of the operation, according to his son. It was Thomas who bought TJ a flying lesson for his 15th birthday. He fell in love with the sky.

“After I landed, all I could think about was going back up,” said, TJ, who hopes to attend the Naval Academy and ultimately become a pilot.

Indeed, his flying is farther along than his driving. His preference for flying over driving is clear.

“It’s a lot more free,” he said. “When you’re driving, you have to be in your lane, watch your blind spot and everything.”

Thomas Kim said he was glad to see his son channel his initial disappointment at losing his sports season into something positive — “something that combines serving the community and his love of flying.”